We Are the Children

KEEPING KIDS EDUCATED AND HEALTHY IS A MAJOR GOAL FOR MARKETERS.

The key to a good relationship is the chemistry between partners. Bogie and Bacall had it. Tracy and Hepburn had it. And if you want to include cause-related marketing alliances, then Sports Authority and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America have it, too.

In Madison Square Garden, with sports greats like track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee there to boost media coverage, the sporting goods chain last November announced a $3.3 million donation to the Atlanta-based charity as part of a three-year commitment to tout the benefits of health and exercise for kids, especially those living in inner cities.

The money funds the Fitness Authority, a new program that encourages more than three million kids in 2,600 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide to “get out and play” via 13-week fitness programs designed by experts and trainers in conjunction with Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Sports Authority. In-store signage and FSIs in 16 million Sunday newspapers support the program, which launched last month.

An advisory board of professional athletes including Joyner-Kersee, baseball player Cal Ripken Jr., and Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders was formed to oversee the program. They and several others will contribute regularly by providing personal training tips for in-store content called “The Celebrity Coach’s Corner.”

At the same time, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, announced its own Boys & Girls Clubs tie-in called Club Tech. The five-year program donates $88 million in software and training (and $12.3 million in cash) to Boys & Girls Clubs nationally.

Sure, the deals are good for kids – but they’re good for brands, too.

“If I can get kids to participate in physical activities early in life, they have a tendency to keep it [up]. And it feeds our business and that of my vendors,” says Jeff Handler, senior vp-marketing and advertising for Sports Authority. “In reality, if we can get more people active, they’re going to buy more of what I sell.”

It Takes a Village Brand marketers get more than warm fuzzies from tie-ins. “It’s not just a nice thing to do. It’s a necessity to improve their reputations,” says Anne Chan, account executive with cause-marketing consultancy Cone, Inc., Boston. “More than ever, [marketers] are realizing that it can affect the bottom line.”

About 92 percent of U.S. companies contribute to a cause or participate in some form of philanthropy, according to the 2000 Cone/Roper Cause-Related Marketing Report. North American businesses are expected to spend $770 million on charity sponsorships this year, up 10 percent from 2000, reports IEG, Inc., Chicago. Spending jumped 11 percent last year, IEG reports.

Two long-time favorite causes – education and community service for kids – have been gaining popularity among marketers. Forty-four percent of companies involved in cause marketing fund educational programs, Cone reports. Youth welfare programs come in second at 14 percent, followed by environmental causes at 11 percent (see chart, pg. 57).

“[Kids] are such a wide demographic that we can slant [promotions] in many different ways,” says Clark Sweat, vp-retail development for Children’s Miracle Network, Salt Lake City. Promos strike a chord with parents and grandparents. “It seems to be such a universal cause,” he says.

Domino Sugar, Baltimore, ran its first promotion with Children’s Miracle Network in late 2000, giving Christmas presents to children in the network’s 170 hospitals to help celebrate the brand’s 100th birthday. Domino donated a total of $325,000 to the hospitals and ran a toy drive at malls in five cities. “[All] sugar is perceived to be the same, and we wanted to set ourselves apart at point-of-sale,” says Deb Abramovicz, vp-account supervisor at Melville, NY-based KPC Greenstone Roberts, Domino’s agency of record. “We thought tying in 100 years with a cause could benefit both the product and Children’s Miracle Network.”

Pittsburgh-based Heinz USA followed suit, celebrating New Year’s Day – and the relaunch of its baby food line as Nature’s Goodness – by giving $100 savings bonds and gift packs to the first child born in 105 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.

Examples are plentiful. Last November, Miami-based BellSouth launched a five-year, $6-million effort to help kids in 10 Latin American countries attend school by supplying them with tuition, supplies, transportation, food, and clothing. Verizon Wireless, Des Moines, IA, established a driver’s education curriculum in late 2000 that will teach teens to be careful when using cell phones behind the wheel.

Child Proof Kids’ charities offer “safe” issues to support, since only Scrooge himself would begrudge a child’s health and education. Besides, many marketers consider donations an investment in the future.

Among more practical matters, an education tie-in can be executed nationally or locally, an important tactical concern. Most companies first consider local community needs when deciding which issues to support, reports Cone’s 2000 Cone/Roper Executive Study. Cone research shows that consumers think marketers should work hardest to address public education issues, Chan says.

Campbell Soup Co. has known that for a long time. The Camden, NJ-based company’s landmark “Labels for Education” program has run 27 years, helping schools acquire classroom supplies in exchange for collecting labels. Late last year, Campbell added an instant-win game that awards 10 grand-prize winners $10,000 and their schools one million bonus labels. In 2000, Campbell donated $90 million worth of items from kickballs to computers in exchange for the 215 million labels submitted.

The program has endured regardless of the company’s sales fluctuations. “It’s a way for schools to have what they otherwise may not be able to get,” says Jeff Bedard, Campbell’s brand communications specialist. “The program allows us to put our best face forward. We want the public to know that this is what our company stands for.”

Meanwhile, nonprofits get much-needed visibility from corporate partners. “It gets our name in the marketplace, and, let’s face it, at the end of the day we have to raise funds to run our programs,” says Brian Porter, vp-corporate marketing for Save The Children.

Pawtucket, RI-based Hasbro joined Save the Children last fall for a campaign that recognizes future R&D specialists. For years, Save the Children has “commissioned” artwork from kids, then let brands including Stride Rite shoes, Dixie cups, and LifeSavers use the designs. The nonprofit has a library of 400-plus designs corporate partners can borrow. Hasbro will select one design from among 10 finalists to make and sell at retail.

People, New York City, and Dulles, VA-based America Online in December launched a six-month partnership with The National Mentoring Partnership, PowerUP, and The Waitt Family Foundation to provide online mentors for inner-city kids. Called Digital Heroes, the program pairs 125 kids with mentors in their field of choice – astronauts, zoologists, actors, and others – to exchange weekly e-mail messages. The exchanges will take place at McLean, VA-based PowerUP’s computer centers nationwide.

“Corporate America is starting to realize that if they can take their assets and make them work, it’s a good thing,” says Nora McAniff, president of People. “Our readers love that we do these kinds of things, and it shows that we don’t just rest on our laurels.”

A Cause for All Seasons Of course, it’s not always about the kids. Phoenix-based PetSmart has expanded its work for animals each year since 1993. The retailer hosts local “pet telethons” to raise awareness about animal welfare, and held 11 events in 2000 that each raised about $200,000. PetSmart adds four cities to this year’s schedule.

According to Cone studies, 78 percent of companies have increased their involvement with causes in the last five years, and 69 percent plan to increase commitments in the future.

“I don’t think you’d see so many companies continuing – and in some cases, doubling – their cause efforts if [they] didn’t speak to the bottom line,” says Sean Brenner, managing editor of the IEG Sponsorship Report. “Companies are finding more good opportunities, and are becoming smarter about figuring out how to derive bottom-line benefits from cause sponsorships.”

Some think charitable activity is a necessity for business success. About 84 percent of U.S. citizens say they’re likely to consider a company’s reputation for supporting causes when they shop, Cone reports.

There’s a halo effect with employees, too. With unemployment at an all-time low, workers are looking beyond casual Fridays for some evidence of an employer’s civic commitment. “Companies are spending more to get employees involved and bolster good feelings about where they work,” says Brenner. “A company that stands for more than making money means much more to them,” adds Chan.

A company that stands for philanthropy – especially kids’ issues – stands tall.

Brands flock online for charity auctions.

How much would you pay to help a good cause? Send us an e-mail with your bid.

A recent survey conducted by the Promotion Marketing Association, New York City, and The Gable Group, San Diego, found that 85 percent of nonprofit agencies and 41 percent of corporations believe the Internet is an effective vehicle for cause promotions. And one of the most popular manifestations of that trend has been the online auction.

Philanthropy on the Internet thrives on eBay, Yahoo, and the myriad sites that host charity auctions. Fundraising efforts range from local groups seeking money to fund a sick child’s surgery to worldwide campaigns from such organizations as the American Red Cross. The idea is simple: Participants bid on items – usually donated for the cause – and proceeds go to the charity, minus any agreed-upon operation fees.

“Despite the solid economy, we are hearing from more and more nonprofit organizations that they need financial help, and there is less commitment from the government to help,” says Kevin Pursglove, senior director of communication at eBay, San Jose, CA. “They are being as entrepreneurial as possible, and one way to do it is set up a charity auction, which extends the marketplace.”

The chance to reach eBay’s 19 million users has attracted droves of brand marketers. St. Louis-based Anheuser Busch helped raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in late 2000 by sponsoring an auction for Michelob-branded collectibles. A recent eBay auction offered celebrity recordings from Owings Mills, MD-based Stars On Call, a nonprofit that raises money for various causes by getting celebrities such as Willard Scott, Joan Lunden, and Paula Abdul to record a message for bidders’ answering machines. Another eBay goody: The Rudy Foundation, Henderson, NV, offers autographed gear from Notre Dame alum (and subject of the film Rudy) Rudy Ruettiger.

Meanwhile, Yahoo Auctions recently hosted a “Doodle for Hunger” auction supporting the St. John’s Food Pantry in New York City. Sponsored by State Farm Insurance, the auction featured hand-drawn doodles of human faces that sell for about $150 apiece.

“There’s so much going on in the world of e-philanthropy,” says Anne Chan, account executive with cause-marketing consultancy Cone, Inc., Boston. “More companies are doing it because it’s so easy to get on the Internet, and it’s easy for [people] to participate. Also, for the company doing it, the costs aren’t very high.” In addition, it only takes a few mouse clicks for the message to be forwarded through word-of-mouth.

Charities benefit from funds and marketing generated by auction. Using host sites like eBay and Yahoo brings heavier traffic and costs less than holding an auction themselves.

One drawback for sponsoring brands is that one-time auctions don’t foster the long-term commitment often vital to a cause marketing alliance. That was a consideration for oil maker Valvoline, Lexington, KY, which ran an auction last spring to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Valvoline aligned with Big Brothers in 1999 and leveraged its 30-year sponsorship of NASCAR. The auction, held on eBay (a Big Brothers sponsor), raised $150,000 by selling 750 rare racing memorabilia items such as Dale Earnhardt’s driving gloves. The campaign won a PRO Award (November 2000 PROMO).

“This was one bullet in our gun. [Auctions] should not be the end-all,” says Marty Kish, vp-communications for Valvoline. “You have to use all the tools available to you.”

This tool can command a fair price.